Drain-pipe inlet.



-APPLIUATION FILED 00T.1. 1909. 972,860. Y Patented Oct. 18,1910.

2 SEEETB-SHEET 1.

W. HOTELING.

DRAIN PIPE INLET.

APPLIGATION FILED oo'r.1. 1909.

972,860. Patented Oct. 18, 1910. v

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

LLL'

5mm/woz WILLIAM HOTELING, OF OBLONG, ILLINOIS.

DRAIN-PII'E INLET.

T o all whom @t may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM Ho'rnLrNG, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oblong, in the county of Crawford, State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Drain-Pipe Inlets; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to drain pipe inlets and is particularly adaptedfor use in connection with oil tanks.

Vhen oil is stored for any considerable period in tanks there is formeda brownish sediment commonly known as B. S. This sediment, if notremoved will often extend above the inlet of the dispensing pipe line ofthe tank and will pass therethrough when said pipe line is open to theexclusion of marketable oil. Attempts have been made to remove thissediment by cutting a hole in the tank, inserting a pipe, and workingthe end of same around in the interior of the tank until the sediment isentirely drawn offby said pipe. This method, however, has proveninefficient and unsatisfactory inasmuch as there is always a leakagebetween the outside of the pipe and the wall of the opening throughwhich it is inserted, and further after the sediment is removed so muchtime is required to take out the pipe and close the opening in the tankthat a great waste of marketable oil results and a greater or lessquantity of oil deposited directly upon the operator.

It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a drain pipeinlet mounted in the wall of the tank just above the bottom thereof,through which a drain pipe may be inserted at the will of the operatorwithout the possibility of any leakage by way of the exterior of thepipe, and which when the pipe is withdrawn therefrom will automaticallyclose and effectually provide against the undesirable waste of oilpreviously mentioned; the position of the automatic closing element ofthe inlet being such that same is operated prior to the completewithdrawal of the drain pipe from said inlet.

With these objects in view the invention consists in the details ofconstruction and in the arrangement and combination of parts to behereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in theclaim.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 1, 1909.

Patented Qct. 18, 1916..

Serial No. 520,550.

In describing the invention in detail reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference denotecorresponding parts in the several views, and in which,

Figure l is a fragmental section of an oil tank with the inventionincorporated; Fig. 2, a top plan view of the invention in a closedstate; Fig. 3, a section on the line 3-3 of Fig'. 2; Fig. 4:, a viewsimilar to Fig. 3 with the closing cap removed and a drain pipe insertedthrough the inlet; and Fig. 5, a view similar to Fig. 3 showing aconstruction for holding the hinged valve of the inlet closed during theoperation of screwing same into an oil tank to avoid possible 'injury tothe valve.

Referring to the drawings 6 indicates an oil tank provided with adispensing pipe line 7. The tank 6 is further provided with an opening,the lowermost portion of which is substantially in line with the upperface of the bottom 8 of said tank, and into this opening is adapted tobe screwed the improved drain pipe inlet. Said inlet comprises a tubularbody which is formed with a threaded central tapered portion 9, adiininished threaded forward portion 10 and a diminished rear portion11, the threaded tapered central portion 9 being adapted for engagementwith the wall of the oil tank to secure the inlet thereto. The bore ofsaid inlet, through the portion 11 and portion 9 is out of alinementwith the bore through the portion 10, whereby an annular flange 1Q. isproduced in the interior thereof, the function of which will bepresently described. The rear end of the inlet is inclined to the axisthereof. A fiap valve 13 is provided with a lug 14 which is disposed inthe recess 15 formed in the portion 11 of the body of the inlet and ispivotally connected to said body through the medium of the pivot pin 16;the manner of pivoting said valve being such that same constantly tendsto seat itself under the influence of gravity upon the rear end of theinlet and close the bore therethrough. The forward end of the inletconstitutes, broadly speaking, a stuffing box for preventing any leakagearound the outside of a pipe which is inserted therethrough. To this enda packing formed of a split rubber ring 17 is disposed against theshoulders 18 and 19 frmed by the flange 12 and the disalined bores ofthe inlet. A follower 20 is mounted to telescope in the bore of theportion 10 and has its forward end provided with the annular flange 21to limit the inward movement thereof by engagement of said liange withthe front end of the portion 10 of the inlet. The rear end of t-hefollower 2() is adapted to engage the rubber packing 17 and expand sametransversely of the bore of the inlet when a pressure is applied to saidfollower. An interiorly threaded cap 22 is adapted to be screwed on thethreaded surface of the portion 10 so as to effect an engagement betweenthe outer end of the follower 20 with the top 23 of the cap 22 wherebysaid follower by continued movement of the cap on theportion 10 isforced inwardly to effect an expansion of the rubber packing 17 and thusdiminish the diameter of the opening in said packing. The top 23 of thecap is provided centrally with a threaded opening 241 for the receptionof a threaded plug 25 to positively close the inlet when not in use.Secured to the portion 9 are the laterally extending wings 25 and 2Gwhich are provided with the apertures 27 and 28 respectively for thereception of screws or other similarl securing elements which are inturn secured to the wall of the tank to prevent any turning of the inletwhen mounted therein.

During the screwing of the inlet into the wall of the tank it isessential that the valve 13 be maintained seated to avoid any possibledamage thereto. This result is accomplished by providing the inner faceof said valve with a threaded recess 29 in which is secured the threadedend of a rod 30 which extends entirely through the inlet and protrudesslightly forward of same. By this construction it will be obvious thatthe valve 13 can be maintained in its seated or closed position byexerting a slight pull on the rod 30 during the insertion of the inletthrough the wall of the tank.

The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming the inlet to beapplied to an oil tank in which there is an accumulated sediment to beremoved, it is only necessary in order to insert a drain pipe throughthe inlet to first remove the plug 25 from engagement with the cap 22and then pass the pipe through the portion 10 until the end thereofengages the packing 17. By the application of a slightly increasedeffort the pipe can be forced through the opening in said packing andthe latter will expand against the outer surface of the pipe and producea substantially liquid tight joint therebetween. Further movement of thepipe will cause the end thereof to engage the valve 13 and move samefrom its seat and the drain of the sediment through said pipe will thenbe instituted. Not only can the pipe when so inserted in the inlet beprojected into the tank to any desired extent but same may be alsomanipula-ted to a limited degree in a horizontal and vertical directionby reason of the fact that the opening through the packing 17 is smallerin diameter than either the bore of the inlet through the portions 9 andl0 or the bore through the portion 11. After the sediment has beencompletely drained from the tank the pipe can be withdrawn, it beingobvious that as soon asthe end thereof has passed out of engagement withthe valve 13 said valve will automatically seek its seat to close theinlet as a result of the influence of gravity. After a completewithdrawal of the pipe from the inlet the plug 25 is again inserted inthe cap 22.

To facilitate the turning of the cap 22 upon the portion 10 to effectthe actuation of the follower 20 a handle 31 is secured thereto.

As it is essential that the valve 13 shall be disposed with its free endat a greater distance inward of the tank than its pivoted end suitabledesignations may be put upon the outer face of the forward portion ofthe inlet to indicate the position lin which the valve is disposed inthe interior of the tank.

What is claimed is:

A device of the character described comprising a tubular member, a valvecarried by said member and constantly tending to close the bore thereofat one end, the other end of said member being reduced exteriorly andinternally and forming a shoulder within the bore of said tubularmember, threads formed on the outer face of said reduced end, acompressible annular' member Within said reduced end disposed againstsaid shoulder and having the opening therethrough of less diameter' thanthe bore of the member, a follower slidingly mounted within said reducedend for movement toward and away from said compressible member andhaving a length in excess of the dist-ance from the outer face of thecompressible member to the outer end of the reduced end of the tubularmember, a cap mounted for travel on the threaded outer face of thereduced end of the tubular member and adapted to engage the outer end ofthe follower to slide same against the compressible member, and a handlecarried by said cap for manually rotating same.

In testimony whereof, I afx my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM HOTELING.

Witnesses:

A. H. HEY, R. K. MCCULLOUGH.

